In recent years, urine testing has played a great role in the diagnosis of disease, in the analysis of health conditions, and in the testing of drug use. In the typical process of urine testing, the urine specimen is collected in a bottle at a medical facility and, then, it is shipped to a laboratory for testing. The test results are then returned to the medical facility.
The urine is examined by inspection as to its color which may be light or very dark from jaundice, breakdown of hemoglobin, or the dispersion of red cells through it. It may contain gravel, quartz, pus, microorganisms, and crystals. The specific gravity is important as a measure of the concentration of the urine. The volume of urine is important also, particularly when there is any impairment of kidney function or any obstruction. Among chemicals that may be tested in the urine are the sugars, acetone (suggestive of diabetes), various nitrogen compounds, hemoglobin and myoglobin (oxygen-carrying proteins of the blood and muscle), homogentisic acid (present in the hereditary disease alkaptonuria), coproporphyrins (suggestive of lead poisoning), prophobilinogen (present in the metabolic disease prophyria), and urea and uric acid. Enzymes and hormones are tested for. A great variety of drugs can be detected in the hormones are tested for. A great variety of drugs can be detected in the urine; these are important in cases of overdosage, sensitivity, or suicidal attempts. Urobilinogen is the important bile derivative tested for chemically. Its high secretion suggests liver disorder; its absence, bile duct obstruction. Phenolsulfonphthalein concentration in the urine after intravenous injection is a good test of kidney function. Among the minerals tested for, calcium, phosphorus, copper, and lead, are perhaps the most important.
In the past, collection and shipping have been major problems in the use of urine specimens. Important considerations in urine testing include the ability to maintain the chain of custody, accuracy in matching test results with specimen samples, tamper resistance, and prevention of contamination. Since the urine specimen passes through many hands between the time of collection and the time of report, it becomes very difficult to maintain the chain of custody. The chain of custody is important as an evidentiary matter in lawsuits and employment dismissal proceedings. In the past, when the urine bottle is sealed, a label having identification information is adhesively fastened to the cap of the urine bottle and the bottle itself. This procedure requires extra caution in the proper coding of the adhesive strip. It requires additional time and effort in the urine collection proceedings. It is also not tamper evident. Many times these labels fall off the bottles or have loose ends on either the cap or the bottle. As such, the potential exists for the cap to be removed from the bottle and placed on a different specimen bottle.
A common type of urine specimen bottle presently used has a pointed end in the body opposite the cap. This common type of urine bottle also contains just forty cubic centimeters of urine. The mouth of the bottle is quite narrow (twenty-eight centimeters). Additionally, there are markings formed on the interior of the bottle indicative of the level of the fluid within the bottle. At present, this bottle is unsatisfactory for many usages. Recently released military regulations require laboratory specimens of sixty cubic centimeters. Additionally, there is no technique in this common form of urine bottle for the maintenance of "chain of custody". It is also quite difficult to read the graduated markings formed on the interior of the bottle. Finally, the pointed end makes it very difficult to maintain the specimen upright for shipment, storage, or usage.
Another common type of urine specimen bottle is identified as a "Wheaton Bottle". The Wheaton Bottle has a proper size for military requirements, but lacks the other important features required for proper usage. Once again, there is a lack of ability to maintain the "chain of custody". The curvature of the ring on the neck of the bottle makes it inappropriate and unusable in combination with tamper-resistant caps. Additionally, there are no graduated markings on the bottle to assist the urine collector in obtaining proper specimens.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a urine bottle that has a threaded surface on the neck of the bottle suitable for the attachment of tamper-resistant caps.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a urine bottle that includes a tamper-evident closure.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a urine bottle having a suitable size, with suitable markings, for the convenient collection of urine specimens.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a urine bottle that enhances the ability to prove chain of custody.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a urine bottle that can be maintained in an upright position.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.